Vehicles are routinely equipped with an air conditioning (A/C) chiller system, which circulates a liquid coolant through the A/C cooler of an air conditioning module (e.g., a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning module) to maintain the A/C cooler below a desired temperature (e.g., 5 degrees Celsius). A representative A/C module chiller system includes a chiller, a recirculation pump, and a series of flow passages fluidly coupling the components of the A/C module chiller system to the A/C cooler. When energized, the pump circulates a liquid coolant (e.g., ethylene glycol) between chiller the A/C cooler. The coolant conductively transfers heat from A/C cooler to the chiller thus cooling the A/C cooler and heating the chiller. The chiller is, in turn, cooled by a refrigeration assembly.
In addition to the A/C module chiller system, hybrid and electric vehicles may be further equipped with a secondary chiller system (the “battery pack chiller system”) suitable for cooling the battery pack utilized to power the vehicle's electric motor/generator. As does the A/C chiller system, the battery pack chiller system includes a chiller, a recirculation pump, and a series of flow passages fluidly coupling the components of A/C chiller system to the vehicle's battery pack. During operation, the battery pack chiller system circulates a liquid coolant (e.g., ethylene glycol) between the vehicle's battery pack and the chiller. The liquid coolant conductively transfers heat from the battery pack to the chiller. This results in the cooling of the battery pack and the heating of the chiller, which is subsequently cooled by a refrigeration assembly as described above. By cooling the battery pack in this manner, the battery pack chiller system may maintain the battery pack at or near a desired operating temperature (e.g., 25 degrees Celsius) thus optimizing the battery pack's operational life and performance. Notably, the desired operating temperature of the battery pack is typically considerably higher than the desired operating temperature of the A/C cooler.
Dual chiller cooling infrastructures of the type described above (i.e., infrastructures employing both an A/C chiller system and a separate battery pack chiller system) are capable of adequately cooling a vehicle's A/C module and battery pack; however such dual chiller infrastructures are limited in certain respects. In particular, such dual chiller cooling infrastructures tend to be relatively bulky, weighty, and costly as each chiller system generally requires its own chiller, recirculation pump, plumbing, and other such components.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a chiller bypass system suitable for cooling both the A/C module and the battery pack of a vehicle utilizing a single chiller. Preferably, such a chiller bypass system would permit independent regulation of the temperature of the A/C module and the temperature of the battery pack. It would also be desirable to provide a method for operating such a chiller bypass system. Other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.